Taiwan, Poland to work together in fighting fraud

Taiwan and Poland signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) yesterday to cooperate on fighting customs fraud.

Poland is the first EU country to sign such an agreement with Taiwan.

The accord was signed by acting Director-General of Customs Lee Mao (李茂) and Jacek Kapica, head of the Customs Service and Undersecretary of State in the Polish Ministry of Finance.

COOPERATION

Under the agreement, the two countries will exchange information on drug trafficking, smuggling of counterfeit products and other types of customs fraud.

Kapica said that countries worldwide should cooperate closely to fight customs fraud to maintain order in the global market, thwart cross-border drug trafficking and smuggling of contraband goods and to better protect intellectual property.

Kapica said that other EU countries would likely follow Poland’s lead and sign customs MOUs with Taiwan.

PROCESS

Vice Finance Minister Chang Sheng-ho (張盛和), who was at the signing ceremony, said Taiwan and Poland began to negotiate on cooperation in customs services in July last year and reached a consensus on all key points in May after several rounds of talks.

Accompanied by several Polish officials, Kapica arrived in Taipei earlier this week for the signing of the MOU.

During his visit, Kapica will meet officials from diplomatic, financial and economic circles for talks and will visit Taipei and Kaohsiung customs offices to better understand Taiwan’s customs operations.

The Polish delegation will also visit a sniffer-dog training center and manpower training facilities to get first-hand information about Taiwan’s efforts to fight drug trafficking and other customs-related crimes.